Generally, a bed type hyperthermo-therapeutic apparatus has a bed type frame as a basic structure, a main mat mounted on the bed type frame to perform a hot compress for an upper part of a user's body, and an auxiliary mat mounted on the bed type frame to perform a hot compress for a lower part of the user's body, so that the user can obtain a hot compress effect, an acupressure effect and an effect obtained by radiating far infrared rays in a state where the user lies on the main and auxiliary mats. At this time, the bed type hyperthermo-therapeutic apparatus has a certain hyperthermo-therapeutic unit mounted in the main mat, and the hyperthermo-therapeutic unit can be reciprocated inside the main mat by a motor so that the user's vertebral regions including cervical and lumbar vertebrae can be treated intensively by the hyperthermo-therapeutic unit located below the user in the state where the user lies on the main mat. Typical bed type hyperthermo-therapeutic apparatuses include those disclosed in a plurality of patent applications including Korean Patent Application No. 1995-47266, Korean Utility Model Application No. 1999-26999, Korean Patent Application No. 2000-7031, and Korean Utility Model Application No. 2000-11259.
FIG. 1 is a representative view showing a conventional bed type hyperthermo-therapeutic apparatus. Such a bed type hyperthermo-therapeutic apparatus has an advantage in that the user's vertebral regions are automatically treated according to a program stored in a control box in a state where the user lies on the bed type hyperthermo-therapeutic apparatus. Thus, the bed type hyperthermo-therapeutic apparatus is most widely used in these days and has been continuously improved to be adapted to treatment of the user's vertebral regions.
To this end, the conventional bed type hyperthermo-therapeutic apparatus employs curved rails 22 having a shape conforming to those of the user's vertebral regions, instead of linear rails. A hyperthermo-therapeutic unit 10 has been improved to be smoothly moved in an upward/downward direction. As the curved rails 22 are employed, a technique capable of preventing or correcting expansion of a feeding belt 22 coupled with the hyperthermo-therapeutic unit to move the hyperthermo-therapeutic unit has been also improved.
Further, as for the treatment of the user's vertebral regions by the conventional bed type hyperthermo-therapeutic apparatus, new techniques have appeared for controlling the reciprocation of the hyperthermo-therapeutic unit in a mat 21 in an automatic manner, at predetermined time intervals according to a program stored in a controller, or based on an actual moving distance of the hyperthermo-therapeutic unit 10 in the mat 21.
Meanwhile, since the conventional bed type hyperthermo-therapeutic apparatus is utilized for intensively treating the user's vertebral regions including his/her back in the state where the user lies on the mat, an additional external hyperthermo-therapeutic unit is employed for treating other regions including the user's abdomen. The external hyperthermo-therapeutic unit essentially comprises a heat-generating section provided therein for generating heat at high temperature; a circular cap externally wrapping the heat-generating section and receiving the heat generated from the heat-generating section to radiate far infrared rays; and a body section for housing or containing the above components. The heat-generating section is supplied with external electrical energy through an electrical wire.
In a case where a user wants to obtain a hot compress effect and an effect generated by radiating far infrared rays on other regions except his/her back using the conventional bed type hyperthermo-therapeutic apparatus constructed as above, the user grasps the external hyperthermo-therapeutic unit and puts it on his/her abdomen or close to his/her shoulder region so as to treat that region for a certain period of time in a state where the user lies on the mat. Conventionally, as for the external hyperthermo-therapeutic unit, a 3-member hyperthermo-therapeutic unit having three hyperthermo-therapeutic members, a 5-member hyperthermo-therapeutic unit having five hyperthermo-therapeutic members and a 9-member hyperthermo-therapeutic unit having nine hyperthermo-therapeutic members are mainly used.
When the user wants to use the external hyperthermo-therapeutic unit, however, the user should grasp the body section of the external hyperthermo-therapeutic unit and move it to a region of his/her body to be treated. Thus, there may be occasionally a region where it is difficult to use the external hyperthermo-therapeutic unit. For example, this region is a crotch region of a lower part of the user's body, which is the region for treating the prostate in case of a man and the region including the uterus for treating and preventing woman's diseases in case of a woman.
When the user utilizes the conventional bed type hyperthermo-therapeutic apparatus by grasping the external hyperthermo-therapeutic unit and moving it to his/her crotch region, it is difficult for the user to perform a hot compress and a far infrared ray radiating treatment in this state and other accompanying people consider the above treatment action as an unnatural and unpleasant action if the user is with others. Accordingly, in the case where the user utilizes the conventional bed type hyperthermo-therapeutic apparatus, there is a disadvantage in that the user cannot help abandoning the treatment for such regions.
Consequently, even though the user wants to treat a lower part of his/her body or perform a therapeutic and preventive action, there has not been provided a proper method of using the hyperthermo-therapeutic apparatus. Therefore, the conventional bed type hyperthermo-therapeutic apparatus has a disadvantage in that it is substantially difficult to achieve a treatment effect on the user's crotch region.